User:Jamesjlewis/sandbox

James Edward Lewis

Biography
Lewis was born in Illinois but attended junior high and high school in Dallas, Texas near Denton where he attended and received his Bachelor of Music at North Texas State (now The University of North Texas). He studied composition there with Samuel Adler, and was a member of the 1 O'Clock (jazz) Lab Band as a trombonist. He later received a M.M. Degree at the University of Illinois where he studied with Gordon Binkerd. Subsequent studies were at the University of Colorado and later with Gunther Schuller at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. That association resulted in the LP "You Must Remember This – Music By James Lewis", GM Recordings, produced by Gunther Schuller in 1988.

Lewis, now is a retired professor emeritus from the University of South Florida, Tampa where he taught from 1971 to 2005 lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where he studies Spanish, travels throughout Mexico, Latin America and composes at his leisure. His favorite Spanish expression: “Vivir bien es la mejor venganza.” Living well is the best revenge. Since his first visit to Cuba on his sail boat Sea Dream II, (solo no less) in 1996, he has returned to do research on the Cuban composer Alejandro García Caturla (1906-1940) and as composer collaborated with the conductor Zenaida Romeu and her orchestra La Camerata Romeu. Maestra Romeu commissioned and premiered his "Suite Caribe" in La Habana in 1997 and has since presented it in concerts in Spain, Mexico, the US, and throughout Cuba.

Lewis continues to envolve himself with Cuba and its music. In April 2012 The Florida Orchestra performed (for the second time) his "Cubanitis" for solo timpani and orchestra, commissioned by  timpanist John Bannon, that was premiered in Tampa in 1998. The 2012 performance was in a concert entitled “Rhythms of Cuba” along with works by the Cuban composers Carlos Fariñas, Guido López Gavilan and Alejandro Garcia Caturla, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa, music director of the National Symphony of Cuba on his first visit to the US. In October 2012 Lewis will travel to Cuba for the premiere of his "Overture - La Vida de Caturla" to be conducted by Zenaida Romeu in Havana's annual Festival of Contemporary Music.

Lewis has been awarded honors from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, ASCAP, VCCA, Florida Arts Council, NEA, Atlantic Center For The Arts, as well as artist residencies in Spain and Germany. In 2003 he was honored with a 'Diploma of Recognition' from the National Philharmonic of Cuba “for the entirety of your artistic work, and significantly, for your efforts towards the diffusion of the master Alejandro García Caturla.”

NOTABLE WORKS

 * 1) "Cubanitis" for solo tympani and orchestra, 1998. Media Press, Inc.
 * 2) "Introduction and Danzón" for solo harp and strings, 1999.
 * 3) "Suite Caribe" for string septet, 1997. Media Press, Inc.
 * 4) "Tu Puedes" for jazz quartet and strings, 1999.
 * 5) "DOUBLES SINGLES VARIABLES for solo violin1', cello, harp and eight winds and percussion, 1994.
 * 6) "La Vida de Caturla", an opera in two acts with a Spanish and English libretto by Noel Smith, 2004.
 * 7) "Canons and Choruses" for SATB on poetry by Theodore Roethke, 1984.
 * 8) "Gadji Beri Bimba" for solo actor/singer, mixed chorus, and brass and percussion ensemble, 1989. Media Press, Inc.
 * 9) "Come What May Places" for flute/picc.,clarinet/bass clarinet,  trumpet, 2 trombones, and percussion, 1985. GunMar Music, Inc.
 * 10) "Hear Me Talkin' To Ya", for soprano, jazz band, & prerecorded tape, 1974.
 * 11) "Dr. Time" for percussion quartet and tape, 1998. Media Press, Inc.
 * 12) "Tampanera II" for flute and percussion, 2006. Media Press, Inc.
 * 13) "You Must Remember This" for wind and percussion ensemble and jazz quartet (alto sax, vibes, bass, & drums) 1984. GunMar Music, Inc.
 * 14) "Three Li Po Poems" for SATB chorus and chamber orchestra, 1976.
 * 15) "C.C. Seascape, Sí " for mens chorus, boys choir, and wind and percussion ensemble, 1992.

DISCOGRAPHY – RECORDINGS AND VIDEOS

 * "You Must Remember This": Music by James Lewis, GM Recordings, GM 3011, 1998 and later produced as a CD by James Lewis in 2002.
 * Dr. Time on Premieres, Vol.1 C. Allen Publications -'Lewis Music' – selected works produced by James Lewis 2008
 * DOUBLES SINGLES VARIBLES, TNC Recordings 'Music That Dares To Explore' 2005 -Scenes from 'La Vida de Caturla.' A vidio by Gamma Vision Tampa FL 2004
 * "Tampanera II" on CD 'McDuo', Ravella Recordings LLG. 2011
 * "Suite Caribe" on CD 'Tampa Habana Oslo' BIS Music 2006
 * C.C. Seascape, Sí, a video by Gamma Vision, Tampa, FL 10/14/'92

PUBLISHED REVIEWS

 * American Music, Vol. 9, No. 1 Spring 1991, pp. 114-117.
 * Review of LP "You Must Remember This" GM Recordings 3011.
 * Ear Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 8, Nov. 1988, p. 30
 * Review of LP "You Must Remember this", GM Recordings 3011.
 * Option Magazine, Nov./Dec. 1988, p. 111.
 * Review of LP "You Must Remember This" GM Recordings 3011.
 * Percussion Notes, Eb. 1999, p. 65 - Review of publication of "Cubanitis" by Media Press, Inc.
 * The Blade, Toledo, OH. Nov. 2, 1990.
 * Review of 'Come What May Places'. Tampa Times, March 13, 1998.
 * Review of Cubanitis by The Florida Orchestra, and ST. Petersburgh Times, March 14, 1998.
 * NACWPI Journal, Spring 1999.
 * Review of publication of "You Must Remember This" by Gunmar Music Inc. La Vanguardia (Barcelona, Spain) August 10, 1999 – Review of "Suite Caribe" performance in Torruela de Montgris, Spain.
 * Percussive Notes, April 2003, p. 84
 * Review of publication of "Dr. Time" by Media Press, Inc. Morelia, Michocan, Mexico, Domingo 12 de Noviembre, 2006.
 * Review of La Camerata Romeu concert on Nov. 11, 2006.
 * Tampa Bay Times, front page, May 12, 2012 “Authentic Cuban Beat Makes History.” Review of "Cubanitis" performance by The Florida Orchestra on May 11, 2012.